West China Cement Ltd (02233) saw its shares climb more than 5% in Thursday trading following the release of its interim results, with the stock last up 4.68% at HK$1.90 on turnover of HK$32.82 million.

The company reported first-half revenue of RMB 4.527 billion, down 16.5% year-on-year, while net profit attributable to shareholders fell 49.4% to RMB 379 million. During the period, total sales volume of cement and clinker reached 10.54 million tonnes, a 2.6% decline from the prior year.

Breaking down the regional performance, sales volumes in the Chinese market dropped 22.6% to 5.15 million tonnes, whereas overseas markets recorded a 29.3% increase to 5.39 million tonnes. The company attributed the weaker domestic results to declining national cement demand, which pressured both average selling prices and gross margins.

Meanwhile, investments in international markets are beginning to yield returns, with operations in sub-Saharan Africa and Central Asia particularly contributing significant profits to the company. Management indicated that it will continue seeking growth opportunities in emerging markets going forward.